Door-operating mechanism.



PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908.

0. G. HARRINGTON.

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 31. 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 892,048. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908. G. G. HARRINGTON.

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. a1. 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

q/iy/lllllll f UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

CLEMENT G. HARRINGTON, OF MAPLEWOOD, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN CAR dz FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

DOOR-OPERATING- MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 30, 1908.

Application filed January 31, 1908. Serial No. 413,575.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLEMENT G. I'IARRING- TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Maplewood, St. Louis county, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Door-Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a car provided with a door-operating mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention Fig. 2 is a cross sectional View taken on the line-22 of Fig. 1 Fig. 3 is a sectional 'view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 4 is an elevation of aportion of the side wall of the car; Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the device on the door to which the winding chain is attached; Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of one of the bearing members on the door; and Fig. 7 is a detail view of one of the racks which cooperates with a pinion on the supporting shaft to cause it to move toward and away from the door.

This invention relates to dump cars, and particularly to the mechanism that is employed in such cars for operating the doors in the bottom of the car.

The main ob'ect of my present invention is to provide a oor-operating mechanism of simple construction which comprises a member that is adapted to be moved underneath the door when it is closed and thus relieve the strain on the chain or cable that is used for closing the door. of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out. I

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, 1 designates a door arranged in the bottom or floor of the car and having one edge connected by means of hinges to a support on the underneath side of the floor. The door preferably consists of a plate provided at its edges with depending flanges that. are formed by four short pieces 2 of an le iron but it will, of course, beunderstoml that the door could be provided with integral flan es if so desired. The hinges on whichthe floor is mounted each consists of a strap or bar of iron 3 bent to form a loop or eye, as shown in Fig. 2, and

Other desirable features connected to the underneath side of the door by means of rivets or suitable fastening devices 4 that pass through fillers 5 arranged between the stra and the door, the angle 2 at the rear edge 0 the door being cut away to permit said strap to project laterall beyond the edge of the door. Pins or pint es 6 pass through the eyes or loops on the door and said pintles are carried by members 6 located beneath the floor or bottom of the car and secured to the floor or to a portion of the floor framing.

A winding shaft 7 is journaled in portions of the floor framing and a chain or cable 8 is secured to said shaft and to the door to move said door into its closed position. The device on the door to which said chain or cable is connected preferably consists of an approximately hollow or box-shaped casting 9 having a narrow central l'shaped web and two integral side flanges, said device bein secured to the front edge of the door an de ending downwardly therefrom, as shown in ig. 5. The vertical portion of the web of the device 9 curves inwardly at 9 to form a recess or pocket that receives the member which retains the door in its closed position,

, and an opening 10 is formed in the vertical portion of saidweb to receive the shank of an eye-bolt 11 to which the windin chain is secured, said web bein provided with a thickened portion or col ar 10 around said opening 10 to form an abutment or bearing surface for the nut 12 which retains the eyebolt in position.

The member that is moved underneath the door after it has been closed so as to form a support for the door, consists of a shaft 13 that is rotatably mounted in elongated openings or bearings 14 formed in the center sill 15 of the underframing and also in a plate 16 secured to the side wall 17 of the car, asshown in Figs. 3 and 4.' The openings or bearings 14 are long enough so that the shaft 13 can be moved underneath the door and away from the front edge of the door to permit it to drop. The bodily movement of theshaft 13 relatively to the door is effected by means of racks 18 secured to the; inside face of the plate 16 and to the center sill 15, and 006 crating inions 19 on the shaft which mes with said racks. The end of the shaft 13 is provided with a squared ortion 15 to receive a wrench or other-suita le implement for turning the shaft 13 and as the shaft turns it moves bodily toward and away from the front edge of the door, the rotary move- 'ment of the shaft in one direction causing it to enter the recess or pocket in the device 9 on the door and thus forming a substantial support that takes the strain from the winding chain. I prefer to secure auxiliary bearing devices 20 to the underneath-side ,of the I 1 door on each side of the device 9, as shown in :Fig. 3, and also provide the shaft with collars 21 that cooperate with the bearings when'the door is' closed, said bearings refer ably consisting of hollow box-shape castings, as shown in'Fig. 6.

etrograde movement of the winding shaft 7 is prevented by means of a ratchet 22 on the end of the shaft, and a cooperating awl 23 on the plate 16 and the supporting s aft 13 is also locked in position in asimilar man- 20 ner,said shaft being provided with a ratchet '24 that cooperates WItll a pivotally mounted pawl 25 on the late 16.

' Having thus escribed my invention, what a I claim as new and desire to secure by Let- 25 ters Patent is 1. A car provlded'with a hinged or pivot ally mounted'door, mechanism for raising said door, and a shaft'separate and distinct from said door-raising mechanism and arran ed parallel to the front edge of the door, 'sai shaft being adapted to be'moved underneath the door to form a support therefor; substantially as described.

2. A'car provided 'th a hinged or pivotally mounted door, means for raising said door, a shaft arranged parallel to the front edge of the door and adapted to door, and means for causing said shaft to shift bodily'toward and away from the door when rotary movement is imparted thereto,

the movement of the shaft in one direction carrying it underneath the door so as to form a support for same; substantially as described.

4. A car provided with a hinged or pivotally mounted door, means for raisin said door, a rotatable shaft arranged ara lel to the front edge of the door, means or causing said shaft to shift bodily toward and away from the door when rotary movement is im-' parted thereto, and a device on the underneath side of said door constructed to receive said shaft'when it moves underneath the door; substantlally as described.

5. A car provided with a hinged or pivotally mounted door, a winding shaft connected by a flexible device to the door for closing it, a shaft arranged longitudinally of the door, means for causing said shaft to move underneath the front edge of the door when it is rotated in one direction, and a device on the door provided with a recess or ocket for receiving said shaft; substantial y as described.

6. A car provided with a hinged or pivotally mounted door, a winding shaft connected by a flexible device to the door for closing it, a shaft arranged longitudinally of the door, means for causing said shaft to move underneath the front edge of the door when it is rotated in one direction, a; device on the door provided with a recess or pocket for receiving said shaft, and auxiliary bearing devices on the underneath side of the door which rest on said shaft when the door is closed; sub- 'stantially as described.

ally mounted door, mechanismfor c osing said door, a shaft separate and distinct from said door-raising mechanism and arranged longitudinally of the door, means for causmg said shaft to move', underneath the front edge of the door when it is rotated in one direction, and means for locking said shaft in position for supporting the door; substantially as described.

8. A car provided with a hinged or pivotally mounted door, means for raising said door, a shaftv arranged longitudinally of the front edge of the door and mounted in elongated bearings, pinions on ,the shaft, and stationary cooperating racks which mesh with said pinions and cause the shaft to move underneath the front edge of the door when it is'rotated in one direction; substantiall 9. A car provided with a hinged or pivotally mounted door, means for raising said door, a shaft arranged longitudinally of the front edge of the door and mounted in elongated bearings, pinions on the shaft, stationary .cooperatlng racks which mesh with said pinions and cause the shaft to move underneath the front edge of the door when it is rotated in one direction, and a device depending from the front edge of the door and provided with a recess or pocket for receiving said shaft; substantially as described.

10. A car provided with a hinged or pivotally mounted door, means for raising said door, a shaft arrangedlongitudinally of the front edge of the door and mounted in elongated bearings, pinions on the shaft, stationary cooperating racks which mesh with said pinions and cause the shaft to move underneath the front edge ofthe door when it is rotated. in one. direction, a device depending from the front edge of the door and provided, with a recess or pocket for receiving said shaft, and auxiliary bearing members on the 7. A car provided with a hinged or ivotas described.

underneath side of the door which rest on said shaft when the door is closed; substantially as described.

11. A car provided with a hinged or pivotally mounted door, a shaft arranged longitudinally of the front edge of the door and mounted in elongated bearings in the floor frame of the car, cooperating racks and pinions on said shaft and on the floor frame which cause the shaft to move toward and away from the door when it is rotated, a device depending from the door and provided with a pocket or recess for receiving the shaft ,When it moves underneath the door, a winding shaft, and a chain or cable connected to said shaft and to the depending device on the door; substantially as described.

12. A car provided with a hinged or pivotally mounted door, means for closing said door, a shaft arranged parallel to the front edge of the door and mounted in elongated bearings, means for causing said shaft to move underneath the door when it is rotated in one direction, a hollow casting on the underneath side of the door provided with a pocket or recess for. receiving said shaft, and auxiliary bearing members adapted to rest on said shaft when the door is closed and consisting of approximately boxshaped castings; substantially as described.

13. A car provided with a hinged or pivotally mounted door, means for closing said door, a shaft arranged parallel to the front edge of the door and mounted in elongated hearings in the floor frame and in a plate con-- nected to the side wall of the car, racks connected to said plate and to a portion of the floor frame, pinions on said shaft which mesh with said racks so that the shaft will move underneath the front edge of the door when it is rotated in one direction, a depending device on the door provided with a recess or pocket for receiving said shaft, and means for locking said shaft to retain it in position for supporting the door; substantially as described.

14. A car provided with a hinged or pivotally mounted door, an approximately hollow box-shaped device secured to the front edge of the door and )IOVidCd with a web that is disposed verticafly when the door is closed, an integral collar or thickened portion surrounding an opening in said web and having a face that is inclined relatively to said web, an eye-bolt passing through said 0 )ening and retained in position by a nut which butts against the inclined face on said collar, and a chain or cable secured to said eye-bolt for operating the door; substantially as described.

In testin'iony whereof I hereunto a'l'lix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses, this twenty ninth day of January 1908.

CLEMENT G. HARRINGION. \Vitncsses:

Wants L. Cnunon, Gnonon BAKEWELL. 

